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Blue Light for Alertness

Answer

Our circadian rhythm, our internal timeclock can be altered by environmental and food cues that include temperature, nutrition, meal timing, social interactions, pharmacological interventions (medicines, drugs) and primarily the night/day cycle of the earth.

For millions of years blue light meant daylight, therefore active time, not late night browsing or internet trading (or pretty blue lights in our light switches). Blue light regulates our secretion of melatonin, the sleep hormone. When exposured to blue light, we limit the production of melatonin and stay alert and awake; in the absence of blue light, melatonin production ramps up, and we get sleepy.

Interestingly as blue light regulates our secretion of melatonin we can limit the production of melatonin and stay alert and awake. A British study found that blue light-enhanced white lights in the workplace can improve alertness, performance, and even nighttime sleep quality in employees,great for the Employer.